NEDA, OCD lead Cordillera rehab after Typhoon Ompong

BAGUIO CITY -- – The cluster committee on disaster rehabilitation and recovery of the CAR Regional Disaster Risk Reduction Management Council (RDRRMC) met here  Oct. 1 to set the Ompong rehabilitation and recovery plan directed to reconstruction and recovery of the region from the effects caused by Typhoon Ompong.

The meeting was presided by disaster rehabilitation and recovery committee chairperson and National Economic Development Authority EDA-Cordillera Regional Director Milagros Rimando.

Summary of damages

The Office of Civil Defense reported that as of Sept, 28, Typhoon Ompong affected 100,204 families with 390,819 individuals across the region. The death toll reached 114 individuals of which 94 were in Itogon.  

Some 3,258 families in Itogon are in need of permanent relocation.

Damage to agriculture and fisheries including irrigation reached P5.92 billion pesos while damage to infrastructure which include roads, bridges, flood control, public building, health facilities, and school buildings amounted to 3.51 billion pesos.

Rehab plan

The committee approved a post disaster needs assessment to be  led by the OCD in coordination with the concerned national government agencies and local government units.

The PDNA is a tool to gather, validate, and analyze data needed in the formulation of the rehabilitation and recovery plan in relation to Typhoon Ompong.

The plan shall cover sectors on infrastructure, social services, settlement, livelihood, and agriculture.

RDRRMC chairperson and OCD-Cordillera Regional Director Ruben Carandang said evacuation centers are among the most urgent needs.

He cited need for provincial and municipal DRRMCs to submit lists of buildings or lots as potential evacuation sites.

He cited his observation that use of evacuation centers takes weeks. “We need to locate where to place the evacuees, not just schools because the education of the children will be affected”.

The committee agreed to submit agency and LGU damage reports including rehabilitation and recovery plans last Oct. 7,  NEDA and OCD for integration in the Regional Ompong Rehabilitation and Recovery Plan.

The result of the PDNA with the regional rehabilitation and recovery plan shall be submitted to the NDRRMC for funding.